Our top five takeaways from CreatorFest 2024
Panels, podcasts and puppies. CreatorFest was, as always, a riot.
Couldn’t make it? Our content marketer Melissa was our on-the-ground reporter extracting all the top insights from the day, including from our keynote with SocialChain’s head of influencer Amelia Wollaston and senior strategist Gareth Harrisson, Why Creators Are Key to Turning Communities into Customers – which they delivered to a full house, if you don’t mind.
Here’s five top takeaways to know about from their session and beyond.
1. Brands think social is more sales-forward than it really is.
Sam Chapman, co-founder of beauty brands Pixiwoo and Real Techniques, says brands need to start recognising creator marketing for what it is: a channel to raise awareness, not make a hard sale. “Brands are stuck in 2014 in that they think if you overtly promote a product, everyone will blindly follow you and go buy it,” she argues during her session with GK Barry and Gleam Futures founder Dom Smales, The Difference a Decade Makes in the Creator Economy. “And that’s not how social works anymore. Some people might buy straight away, but that’s like lightning in a bottle.”
“Our main KPI for creator content is brand awareness, not conversion,” adds Oatly’s global social lead Anni Tjebbes in her session How Oatly Harnessed The Creator Effect. “Don’t push sales. People are smart. If they like your brand, they’ll purchase.”
It’s the thinking behind our senior strategist Gareth’s prediction for where the creator economy’s headed. In his session with Amelia, Gareth says we’ll see creators increasingly used throughout the funnel, not just last-click. Heard it here first.
2. The future of creators is beyond social.
Gareth’s second prediction? Creators are more powerful than a single channel.
“The future of creators is beyond social,” says Gareth. “I think they’ll become part of mainstream advertising and we’ll see them more in out-of-home and TV campaigns too.”
That future could be nearer than we think – with GK Barry’s Barryaki campaign with KFC hitting our screens and Chicken Shop Date star Amelia Dimoldenberg getting hosting gigs at every awards show on TV.
3. The best inspiration for a creator ad? Content that isn’t an ad.
“I love when brands give me a brief and use organic content I’ve posted that’s performed well – not an ad – as a reference,” explains GK Barry.
“Our main KPI for creator content is brand awareness, not conversion. Don’t push sales. People are smart. If they like your brand, they’ll purchase.”
Anni Tjebbes, Global Social Lead, Oatly
4. Be transparent.
When Oatly briefed creators on their Works in Almost Everything campaign, TikTok chef DanSum’s content was unexpected. Whereas other creators produced content that showed how great Oatly was as a replacement in cooking, baking and cocktails, DanSum honed in on the word “almost” by producing a video that showed that Oatly in fact didn’t work for tanghulu (a Chinese dessert made of candied fruit, FYI).
For 99% of brands, this video would never have seen the light of day. Not only did Oatly give the green light to post, it ended up being one of the team’s favourite pieces of content from the campaign.
This transparency is what made Oatly a prime candidate to be featured in our latest white paper Forget Real. As we explain in our Social Sleuth segment, campaigns like Works in Almost Everything and F*ck Oatly prove transparency is hard-wired into the brand’s DNA. Read it now.
5. Be mindful and move fast.
No, not the “demure, cutesy” kind of mindful. When it comes to your creator partnerships, brands need to work with the right creator at the right time. When TikTok creator Golloria George drew attention to a lack of diversity in Rhode Beauty’s shade range for its new liquid blush, the brand didn’t shy away from criticism. They made things right by partnering with Golloria and releasing two new shades to suit deeper skin tones. Those moments are when your creator collaborations can genuinely do good.
